When the two ships Timaru and Oamaru
were being built for Patrick Henderson it was his intention to name them Scotia and
Albion, but just before they were launched in 1874, the names were changed. The tonnage of
the two ships was just about 1300, and both were built by Scott, of Greenock, in 1874; the
Oamaru being launched in October, and the Timaru in December. The Timaru was a flyer, and
accomplished some very fast runs out and Home. The Timaru, some years after being sold to
Norway, was wrecked on a voyage from Flushing to Christiania. She stranded at Fjaltring on
February 22, 1907. The masts went over the side immediately after she struck the ground,
and the vessel then drifted along the coast, and soon broke up. A crew of about twenty
were drowned, and a valuable cargo was lost. The Timaru made 17 voyages to New Zealand,
touching at all the major ports including Bluff.White Wings - Sir Henry Brett